


You Said You Wouldn't Leave

by FairyFanatic



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Character Death, Depression, Fluff, It gets better near the end, Minor Character Death, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-10
Updated: 2018-03-10
Packaged: 2019-03-29 14:06:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13928640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FairyFanatic/pseuds/FairyFanatic
Summary: Keith and Lance are in college, Keith suffers from depression





	You Said You Wouldn't Leave

**Author's Note:**

> I wasn't sure if this is a minor or major character death so I tagged both.  
> Also this is finished. There will be no more chapters

He was scared. He was very scared. No one knew what was going on inside his head, his brother, his friends, his boyfriend all thought he was fine. He was far from fine. 

“Keith?” Keith turned to the person calling out his name, it was his boyfriend, Lance. He must have zoned out again because Lance was waving a hand in front of his face to get his attention. “You good? I've been trying to get you to come back for at least five minutes” Lance laughed

“Yeah, yeah, I'm good. Was just thinking” Keith shrugs and puts on a smile. 

“What were you thinking about?” Lance asked, curiosity leaking into his features. 

“Nothing important, just wondering what I'm gonna do for that art project that's coming up” Keith shrugs, it was a lie but Lance didn't need to know. 

“Got any ideas?”

“Not yet, I'm kinda drawing a blank” 

“Why not paint the ocean? Or a space scene?” Lance suggests as he rests his hand on his cheek seemingly getting lost in thought as well. 

“I'll think about it” Keith stands and stretches “gonna go get something to drink, want anything?”

“Ah.. Just a pop” Lance smiled

“You got it” Keith heads into the kitchen of his small apartment that he shares with Lance. They're both in college, Keith is an art major while Lance was taking acting classes, they're graduating next year, Lance is excited but Keith is only hoping he can make it to then. He grabs a can of pop from the fridge and a bottle of water for himself, making his way back to Lance. 

“Thanks babe” Lance says as he takes the can from Keith. 

Keith sits back down and leans against Lance, letting his head fall onto Lance's shoulder, He was tired, he was very tired. 

“Don't fall asleep on me, mullet, we still have to make dinner” Lance grins as he runs his fingers through Keith's hair. 

“I'm not hungry but you can go get something for yourself” 

“Have you eaten anything today?” lance asks concerned 

“Yeah I had something earlier while you were out” Keith lies

“Oh.. Okay then, well go on and sleep then, you look tired, I know you were up late last night drawing” Lance kisses his forehead and stands, heading to the kitchen

Keith smiles and gets up, going to their room, collapsing on the bed. He should tell Lance, tell him everything that's going on in his mind, but he doesn't know how, he doesn't know what to say, will Lance understand, will anyone understand. Keith ends up sleeping for a couple hours, waking up to Lance shaking him, a worried look on his face “Keith?? Keith wake up!” 

“.... Lance? What?” Keith yawns as he sits up. 

“were you having a nightmare?” 

“I, uh.. I don't know.. I don't remember, why?”

“You were crying” Lance reaches up and wipes away a tear on Keith's cheek with his thumb. Keith brings his hand up to his face and wiped away the rest of the tears. 

“i didn’t know I was crying..” Keith looks away.

“Are you okay Keith?” Lance takes his hand “I’ve noticed you’ve been a bit off lately…”

“Yeah, yeah..Don’t worry about me, i’m fine.” Keith looks at him again putting on a smile that’s mostly genuine.

Lance holds back a sigh “Okay..but please...please talk to me if something is wrong Keith...Maybe i can help you.” Lance kisses Keith’s cheek and stands but Keith reaches out and grabs his hand again, pulling him back down. “stay...please?”

“Of course babe, you don’t have to ask me that..” Lance lays down with Keith, pulling him close. Keith cuddles into his chest, Lance would always make Keith feel a little better, always make him feel happier, Keith hugs him as Lance plays with his hair again.

“You know, anytime you want to talk, I’m here, I’ll always be here” Lance speaks softly

“I know”

“I love you Keith” 

“I love you too Lance..” 

Keith and Lance fell asleep pretty quickly and soon morning came around. Lance woke first, keith wrapped around him, lance smiled and wipes the sleep from his eyes, today was a weekend so they didn't have to be at class meaning Lance was in no hurry to get up. Keith stirs awake a few minutes later “morning koala” Lance says with a fond look. 

“Don't call me that” Keith pouts and unlatches himself from Lance, rolling away. 

“Hey no, come back here” Lance throws an arm around Keith's waist and pulls his close again. Keith sighs, melting under Lance's touch. He isn't feeling well today, not one bit..  Is he going to tell Lance that.. No. Keith just wants to stay here, all day and not do anything else, but he has to. “Hey Lance, I can't stay here long.. I got to go out and pick up a few things.” Keith sits up a little, turning to look at him

“Do you have to?” Lance pouts

“Yeah, I need to get some more paint, and you have to be at work in an hour, did you forget that?” Keith grins

“Oh shit.. I did forget” Lance groans as he gets up “I guess I'll go take a shower” Lance grabs some clothes from his drawer and heads to the bathroom. Lance works as a part time barista at the local coffee shop called Altean Cafe, since he's still in college he only works on weekends. 

Keith stays sitting on the bed, he sighs, deciding to change out of yesterday's clothes, he ties up his hair and heads into the kitchen. He goes to the fridge, taking out eggs and bacon, he cooks breakfast for Lance while he gets ready for work, but he doesn't get anything for himself, only takes a few pieces of bacon and makes himself a cup of coffee. Lance enters the kitchen as Keith sits down at the table “hey hot stuff, did you cook?” Lance smiled as he looked at the plate on the counter 

“Yeah, wanted to make you something before you headed off the work.” Keith smiles, taking a sip of his coffee. 

“Thanks babe, did you eat already?” Lance asked, noticing there's no plate for Keith. 

“Yeah, I had a few pieces of bacon” 

“At least you ate something” Lance eats standing, finishing it pretty quick, getting a glass of milk and turns to Keith “hey, are you gonna be okay today? I know how bad your anxiety can get when you're surrounded by crowds..” Lance asks concerned 

“Yeah I'll be fine” Keith assures. 

“Okay.. But I'm gonna keep my phone on me, if anything happens.. Please just call me, I don't care if I'm doing something, just call, you're more important”

“Yeah.. “ keith smiles. Lance nods,  heading back to the bathroom to brush his teeth. 

Keith stares at his mug, he hates going out shopping by himself, he always feels less anxious when Lance is around, Keith does not do well with crowds, he's just gonna have to hope there isn't many people at the store today. Lance returns to the kitchen “alright I'm headed to work, see you after” Lance moves over and kisses Keith goodbye. 

“Bye Lance” Keith says as Lance leaves. 

After half an hour went by Keith heads out to the store, he takes his bike, but when he gets to the parking lot it takes him a couple minutes to actually get off the bike and go inside. 

Keith hung his helmet on the handlebars and heads inside  _ ‘okay, keith… you can do this.. It's just a few people, it's not like you even have to talk to anyone, just pick up your art supplies and get out of there’  _ Keith sighs. 

Keith makes his way up and down a few isles avoiding anyone he sees, there was more people in the store than he'd thought there would be. Keith avoided picking something up if there was another person standing in front of the item, he'd just walk away and come back hoping that they'd be gone. After picking everything up he quickly made his way over to the checkout, to his luck there was no one in line, he paid for the items and left. Keith made his way back to his bike, placing the bag into the pack he keeps around his shoulder, putting on his helmet and starting up his bike, he heads home. 

Once home Keith instantly goes to his art studio space to put away the supplies he bought. He takes one canvas and places it on his easel, he wants to paint, needs to clear his head, needs to get the panic out by painting. 

Strokes of purple, smears of blue and black, take the form of water, leaving one simple red dot in the sea of darkness, sinking. 

Keith paints for 3 hours, it was plenty of time for him to finish, he hides these paintings from Lance, only letting him see random sketches or his school projects, he knows it's unhealthy to hide everything but he doesn't know how to bring it up yet, so for now he hides. Keith waits one hour for the painting to dry and then stuffs it in into a space in the wall with the rest of his secret paintings. 

Keith heads back out to the living room, dropping onto the couch, laying down  _ ‘Maybe I can get some sleep’  _ he thinks to himself as he gets comfortable, closing his eyes but it didn't last long for something to interrupt that idea, he phone started to buzz on the coffee table. Keith looks at the caller ID, it was Lance, Keith answers “hey”

**_“Hey, I'm on break, just wanted to call and see how the trip to the store went?”_ **

“It went well, I'm home now, got everything I needed”

**_“Well that's good, I get off in an hour so I'll see you then, what are you doing now?”_ **

“On the couch not really doing anything right n- oh hang on I got another call”

**_“Okay, take it, I'll be here still”_ **

Keith puts Lance on hold and answers the other caller. 

“Hello?” 

Keith's face goes white as he listens to the person on the other end, heart dropping and a hand coming up to cover his mouth. 

“I-I’ll be there S-soon.. “ Keith stutters out as he hangs up and goes back to Lance's call 

“L-Lance?” Keith's voice is shaking badly. 

**_“Keith!? What's wrong?!”_ **

“I… I got t-to go…”

**_“Keith! What's happening??”_ **

“G-gotta go.. H-hospital… “

**_“Stay right there. I'm leaving and coming to get you, you're not going alone.”_ **

Before Keith gets a chance to argue Lance has already hung up. 

_ ‘No.. No no no… Please no’  _ Keith tries his best to keep his mind clear, it's no use, his thoughts are spiraling all over the place. 

It takes 15 minutes for Lance to show up, and when he does he runs inside finding Keith sitting on the couch still, hands over his face, shaking. 

“Keith??” Lance kneels down in front of him, gently taking hold of his hands “hey.. What's going on??”

Keith takes a minute to focus on Lance. “W-We need to go..” Keith stands pulling away from Lance, grabbing a jacket and throwing it on. 

“Okay.. Okay.. Come on” Lance says as he and Keith make their way to Lance's car, Keith sits in the car and bites at his lip. Lance drives towards the hospital “Keith.. Who's in the hospital??” 

“m-mom” was all Keith got out before his voice stops working. 

Lance's eyes widen, and he takes Keith's hand, squeezing it as he continues to drive.  Once they arrive, Keith quickly gets out of the car and rushes toward the entrance, Lance chases after him. Keith was already asking where his mom was, the woman pointed in the direction, telling him the room number, he grabbed Lance's hand once Lance caught up to him and dragged him towards the room. There were a bunch of nurses in and entering the room, Keith gets even more worried “No. No… please…” Keith says to himself in a whisper but loud enough that Lance heard. A nurse stopped Keith before he could enter the room “sir, you cannot go in there right now”

“But that's my Mother!” Keith tries to push past the nurse but he was stopped again “sir! I cannot let you in! We need to stabilize her, she lost a lot of blood and needs immediate surgery, we are trying our best to save her” 

All Keith could do was nod and watch as the nurse returned to the room. Lance put a hand on Keith's shoulder. Lance knew what losing Krolia will do to Keith, he just got her back in his life, he won't give him false hope in case Krolia doesn't make it, so he doesn't say the usual encouragement that she's gonna be okay. “Keith.. It's okay”

Keith turns towards Lance, his eyes starting to fill with tears, his expression worry and fearful. Lance pulls him into a hug and just holds him. Lance guides Keith to a sitting area, they sit there waiting for a couple hours, neither of them saying a word, eventually a nurse walks up to them and Keith stands “is she okay??”

“We've stabilized her and managed to remove the bullet but she seems to have fallen into a coma. We're sorry but it's up to her now.” 

Keith nods “can we see her?”

“Of course. Follow me” the nurse leads Keith and lance to a different room than before, giving them some space afterward. 

Keith bites his lip as he sits in a chair next to Krolia's bed, there were so many machines hooked up to her, making sure everything is okay. Lance stands back by the door as Keith puts a hand on Krolia’s arm. “Mom.. I know you might not be able to hear me right now.. But you gotta fight this.. Come back.. You gotta wake up.. Please..” Keith lowers his head as tears built up in his eyes. Lance finally moves to Keith's side, kneeling down and taking ahold of his other hand. Keith immediately turns and buries his face into the crook of Lance's neck, Lance hugs him. “Whenever you're ready, we'll go, okay?” Lance says softly. 

Keith just nods, pulling away from Lance and wiping at his eyes. “Just a few more minutes”

“Of course Keith.. “ Lance stands again, this time moving behind him, placing both hands on his shoulders. 

“Let's go” Keith says after a while. Lance nods 

“Okay.”

Keith stands after saying goodbye to his mom, walking out of the room, Lance following behind. 

The ride home was quiet, it wasn't the comfortable silence, it was the kind of silence that makes you uneasy. Once they get home, Keith exits the car and makes his way inside, taking off his shoes and going to their bedroom, dropping onto the bed. Lance followed him, standing in the doorway “hey, can I get you anything?” Lance asks

“No thanks, just wanna sleep” Keith mumbles 

“Okay, sleep then” Lance moves over, leaning down to place a kiss to Keith's head. “Call for me if you need anything, I'm gonna get something to eat”

“Okay” 

Lance leaves the room, heading toward the kitchen. He isn't sure what to do right now, he isn't sure if Keith wants to be alone or if he doesn't, Keith never made that clear, but in the end Lance never asked either. Lance sighed, eats a few crackers and heads back to the room with Keith, laying down with him. 

Keith is asleep so Lance just throws an arm around him and keeps him close.

* * *

 

It's been a week since Krolia ended up in a coma. Keith and Lance go back everyday but nothing changes, Lance has been keeping an eye on Keith too, he hasn't been doing well lately, he's been staying in bed far more than ever, he's stopped painting and barely talks anymore. 

Lance called the school and got some time out due to a family emergency, he also called his work and got time off for the same reason. visiting hours ended at the hospital for the day so Lance and Keith were leaving Krolia's room when suddenly, the heartbeat stopped, Keith turned to look back but he was pushed out of the way as doctors and nurses ran into the room, Keith tries to run into the room shouting “NO! Mom!!”

Lance had to wrap his arms around Keith's waist to keep him in place. “Keith stop, let the doctors take care of it!”

“B-but she was okay?? I mean.. Nothing changed but sh-she..” Keith cuts himself off

“Shh.. Keith..” Lance keeps his arms around Keith, too afraid of what he'd do if Lance let go. 

Eventually a nurse comes back out, walking towards Keith and Lance, an unreadable expression on her face. 

“I-is she…?” Keith asks

“We're very sorry sir, we tried our best, but we couldn't save her this time” the nurse lowers their head and walks away

“No. .. NO!  no.. No, no, no! Mom!” Keith escapes Lance’s hold and runs to the room just in time to see the last machine being unhooked and the sheet being pulled over his moms head. “no… You said you wouldn't leave me again…” 

Lance rushed to Keith's side as he fell to his knees, catching him, kneeling to the floor with him “I'm so sorry Keith…”

Keith breaks, every emotion comes barreling out, hands cover his face as he cries. Lance let's Keith get everything out, holding him, his own tears threatening to fall. Lance eventually helps Keith up and walks him over to a sitting area. “Hey Keith.. Shiro wasn't here today, do you want me to call him?”

Keith hasn't found his voice yet so he just nods. “Okay, I'm gonna go stand by the other wall” Lance squeezes Keith's shoulder as he stands. Lance leaned against the wall, pulling out his phone and calling Shiro. 

**_“Hello?”_ **

“Shiro, hey, its Lance” 

**_“Lance, how are you?”_ **

“Not good, we're, ah.. Me and Keith are at the hospital, can you come?”

**_“What happened??”_ **

“Keith's mom didn't make it” Lance whispers this slightly. 

**_“Oh no.. I’ll be there in a few minutes, How's Keith?”_ **

“Heart Broken..”

**_“I'll  see you both soon”_ **

“Okay” Lance ended the call and made his way back over to Keith, sitting and pulling him into a hug. “Shiro is on his way”

Keith nods again “c’mon.. Let's go wait for him by the entrance, yeah?” Lance asks 

“O-okay” keith managed to whisper. 

Lance helps him stand again and walks with him down to the entrance. 

It doesn't take long for Shiro to show up. As soon as Shiro entered the building he ran up to Keith, pulling him into a hug. “I'm so sorry Keith” 

Keith leans into the hug “why.. Why her?” He whispers as Shiro puts a comforting hand on the back of his head. 

“Shh… Keith it'll be okay.. Why don't you and Lance head back home, while I take care of everything here? Yeah?”

Keith pulled away to nod, he kept his head low, not letting anyone see his face. 

“If you need me, I'll come running, whatever you need, I promise” Shiro put a hand on Keith's shoulder, Keith nods. Shiro pulls Keith in for one more quick hug, to which Keith returns this time. They pull apart from the hug and Shiro leaves to talk with the doctor. 

Lance takes ahold of Keith's hand gently, squeezing it for comfort. “Ready to go home?” 

“Yeah” Keith's voice is quiet, barely above a whisper. 

Lance wraps an arm around Keith's waist allowing Keith to lean on him as they walked to the car. 

As they were driving home, Lance glances at Keith, asking “is there anything you'd like? Anything you want me to pick up before we get home?”

“The only thing I want right now is my mother, but I can't have that. She's dead.”

“I'm sorry”

“Let's just go home, I want to lay down”

“Okay…” 

The rest of the ride was uncomfortably silent, Keith hadn't looked up, not even when he got out of the car to hear inside. 

Lance followed him inside, following him to the bedroom as well. “Want me to stay?” Lance asks as Keith sits down, he finally looks up at Lance, eyes red and filled with tears, a few rolling down his cheeks, it makes Lance's heart break to see his boyfriend in so much pain. 

“Please stay” Keith whispered. 

Lance doesn't hesitate to move closer and laying down beside Keith, wrapping him in a blanket and holding him close as he cries into Lance's chest. Lance softly sings to him, a lullaby of sort, hoping it will sooth Keith, it works a little as Keith's sobs slowly stop and he starts to fall asleep. Lance continues to sing a little while after Keith had fallen asleep, until he too fell asleep. 

* * *

The days leading up to Krolia's funeral were far from easy, Keith slept most of the time, he'd spend a full day laying in bed either asleep or just staring off into nothing, he wouldn't eat, lance has tried over and over again to get him to eat but nope, Keith wasn't going to. Lance was worried about Keith, really worried, he knows Keith is suffering from depression, he's actually known all along, Lance had always tried to make him happy, it usually worked but now, now Lance just feels helpless, he couldn't even get Keith to speak a full sentence. He's afraid of what Keith might do.

The funeral is today, Shiro showed up to take Lance and Keith. Everyone else was there as well, Pidge, Hunk, Allura, Matt, and Coran all came to the funeral. Although once it was over, everyone hugged Keith and asked if he'd like them to stick around, Keith said no. He just wants to go home. Lance does just that, he got Shiro to give them a ride back home. 

It wasn't until a few days later that Lance realized he might lose Keith, nothing changed, if anything Keith got worse, he clearly got skinnier from not eating, huge dark circles under his eyes from not sleeping, Lance desperately tried to get Keith to eat something, to get him to go out with him for a bit, but Keith wasn't up for any of it, he avoided his friends, he even avoided his brother. Lance made his way to the bedroom and slid under the blankets, wrapping an arm around a sleeping Keith.  _ ‘At least he finally is getting some sleep’  _ Lance sighed. He hated how small Keith felt in his arms now, the guy was always skinny but not this skinny. 

Morning rolled around, Lance woke up stretching, turning his head to see that Keith was still asleep next to him, he leaned down and kissed his shoulder before getting up to shower. Once showered he heads to the kitchen, finding Keith sitting at the table. “Keith? You're up, how are you?” Lance asks as he moves to sit by him. 

Keith shrugs “I don't know.. But I decided I'm gonna take a ride on my bike today.” 

Lance nods “okay… just be careful please” he takes ahold of Keith's hand, bringing it to his lips to kiss it. 

“Yeah I'll be careful, I'll see you later” Keith stands up from the table. 

“I love you Keith”

“I love you too” Keith grabbed his helmet and key, heading out the door. Lance watches him from the window, he's happy that Keith is up and going out but it also worries him, he worries that Keith's mindset isn't safe for riding that bike. 

Keith shoves his helmet on, sitting on his bike, starting it up and leaving. Keith drives faster than usual. Taking turns a little more risky, he knew that all it would take was one crash, going a bit to fast would be enough to end it all, to end whatever pain he feels but will he do it? No. As much as he is hurting right now, he wouldn't take the easy way out, wouldn't leave everyone who was there for him behind, he knew it'd hurt them, he knew he'd hurt Lance, he can't do that. Keith knew that it'd get better, not completely, no one can get over a death completely, especially when you just got to know the person once again, you just have to learn to accept it. That is what Keith is trying to do now, he's done grieving. 

He was riding for hours, it was starting to get dark now, Keith decided to head home. 

Lance was cooking when Keith stepped inside, looking over and offering a smile to which was returned. 

“Do you want something to eat?” Lance asked “I'm making grilled cheese”

“Yeah” Keith moves towards Lance and hugs him, hiding his face against Lance's back. Lance puts a hand over Keith's hand. “Are you gonna be okay Keith?”

Keith hesitates before answering “yeah, in time”

**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr is http://klanced-out.tumblr.com


End file.
